


All About Sneezing

by sarahgirl1998



Series: The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Harvey Girls [5]
Category: Harvey Street Kids (Cartoon), My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Allergies, Apple Bloom Sneezes, Audrey Sneezes, Comedy, Cute, Dot Sneezes, Educational, Everyone Sneezes, Feathers & Featherplay, Female Sneezing, Flowers, Gen, Humor, Lotta Sneezes, Scootaloo Sneezes, Sneezing, Spice, Sweetie Belle Sneezes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24039304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: The Harvey Girls teach the Cutie Mark Crusaders about what causes sneezing, as well as the right way to sneeze.
Series: The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Harvey Girls [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649827





	All About Sneezing

It was a lovely day outside, and the Harvey Girls - Audrey, Dot and Lotta - were playing with their friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle - at the park that had their favorite playground. Lotta was pushing Scootaloo on one of the swings, Dot and Apple Bloom were going down the slide, and Audrey and Sweetie Belle were hanging out close to a field of flowers.

“You know, Sweetie Belle, I can jump rope at least a hundred times a minute,” Audrey told Sweetie. “And given how many times I can jump rope per second, that’s a lot!”

“Wow!” Sweetie Belle looked very interested. “That’s something I’d like to see!”

“I’ll go get my jump rope from my backpack so I can show you,” Audrey told her.

As she and Sweetie Belle began to walk to where they’d placed their backpacks, Audrey noticed some pink and yellow flowers growing out of the ground. They stopped where they were to take a look at them.

“Huh, I don’t remember seeing these flowers here the last time we played here,” said Audrey.

“Oh, they’re so pretty!” Sweetie Belle commented. “I wonder what they smell like….” She picked a couple of the flowers, then held them in her hoof as she took a big sniff.

Just then, however, Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and pupils shrunk. Her nose twitched around as her nostrils flared up to a couple times their normal size. Audrey looked at her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“What’s the matter, Sweetie?” Audrey wanted to know.

“Aaah… Haaah…” Sweetie Belle lowered her eyelids as she tilted her neck backward. She dropped the flowers from her hoof, then stood up on her hind legs with a final inhale. “HAAAAAH…”

“AHHH-TCHYEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!”

A loud sneeze erupted from Sweetie Belle’s nose and mouth as she shot her neck forwards, with a small amount of saliva escaping in the process. Audrey winced in surprise. She never knew that Sweetie Belle could sneeze like that.

Sweetie Belle then got back down on her hooves, her eyes open halfway again. She sniffled loudly as she rubbed her nose with her hoof.

“Wow! Gesundheit, Sweetie!” said Audrey.

“Thanks,” Sweetie Belle replied. She continued to rub her nose. “I wonder why those flowers made me sneeze…”

“I guess you smelled them too hard,” Audrey stated.

“Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie then heard her name being called.

She and Audrey turned their heads to see Dot and Lotta walking up to them. They looked like they had heard the sneeze.

“Are you alright? Just now, I heard a very loud sneeze!” said Dot.

“Yeah, it scared me!” Lotta mentioned.

Sweetie Belle blushed a little as she gave them a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, girls. I was smelling these pretty flowers, and they made me do a really big sneeze.”

“These flowers?” Dot looked down at the flowers that Sweetie had sneezed from. She reached down and picked them up, then looked at them.

“I thought they smelled a little too good,” Sweetie Belle went on, “but Audrey said that I smelled them too hard.”

“You know what I think?” Dot asked. Before she could speak, however, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked up to them.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Scootaloo wanted to know.

“Did ya guys hear a really loud sneeze just now?” Apple Bloom asked, and Lotta nodded in response.

It was then that Dot began to explain. “The reason that these flowers made Sweetie Belle sneeze wasn’t because of how good they smelled, or because of how hard she smelled them. They made her sneeze because of the pollen.”

“The pollen?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yes. Pollen is a yellow substance that exists inside flowers,” Dot pointed out.

Apple Bloom bent her head down to one of the flowers and took a couple of sniffs. The flower smelled lovely and all, but she could feel a tickle in her nose. She stood back up, gave a couple of inhales, and then sneezed.

“Heh, haaah… Ah-chew!” She then sniffled as she rubbed her nose with her hoof.

“Bless you,” said Sweetie Belle. “Looks like you smelled some of the pollen, didn’t you?”

Apple Bloom nodded and continued to rub her nose.

“At certain times,” Dot went on, “the flowers release some of this pollen, and when it gets inside your nose, it can tickle your nose and cause you to sneeze.”

“Really?” Audrey picked one of the pink flowers and held it to her nose, sniffing a couple of times. She must have been curious about whether or not this flower would make her sneeze, too.

“You see, we all have immune systems in our bodies,” Dot went on. “They sometimes mistake pollen for something harmful, so they make you sneeze so you can blow it out.”

As she said this, Audrey felt a tickle in her nose, which began to tremble about as her nostrils twitched. There was no doubt that this was because of the flower’s pollen. She shut her eyes and began to inhale.

“Ah, aaah… AAAAAHHHHH-- CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

Everyone cringed as Audrey released a mighty sneeze, with a good amount of spray being released from her mouth. Some of the spray landed on Dot’s arm, causing her to wince in dismay and disgust.

“Oh! Yuck!!” She wiped the spray off of her arm with her hand.

“Bless ya, Audrey!” Apple Bloom said as Audrey rubbed her nose with her forefinger.

“Thanks…” Audrey then noticed that Dot was trying to clean her arm off. “Uh, what’s wrong, Dot?”

“You didn’t cover your sneeze, and your spit got on my arm!” Dot said. She pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned her arm off, followed by the hand she touched it with. “That’s just disgusting!”

“Uh, whoops.” Audrey pulled her forefinger away from her nose and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “Sorry, Dot.”

“Oh, Audrey, you really shouldn’t sneeze on other people,” said Lotta. “Dot’s right, it is yucky.”

“And aside from that,” Dot mentioned, “you’ll wind up sharing your germs with whoever you sneezed on. That’s just not polite.”

“Yeah, and the person you sneezed on might sneeze themselves,” Lotta went on.

“Whoa. I guess I didn’t realize sneezing could be so dangerous…” Audrey said.

“That’s why you should cover your mouth when you sneeze,” Lotta said. “That way, you don’t share your germs with your friends.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“You know, ya do have a good point,” Apple Bloom said. “My brother and sister always tell me to put my hoof over my mouth when I sneeze, so I do.”

“I put both of my hooves over my mouth when I sneeze!” Sweetie Belle said. It sounded like she wasn’t afraid to admit it.

Audrey let these sink in. “Hmm, those do sound like better ideas. Maybe I should start doing that…”

“I wouldn’t recommend it, Audrey,” said Dot. “Sneezing into one or both of your hands is better than sneezing on someone else, for sure.”

“But there’s a reason we really shouldn’t do it in public.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?” Scootaloo asked.

“When you sneeze into your hands, the germs that you sneezed out will land on your hands,” Dot mentioned. Everyone’s eyes widened in shock when they heard that. “And if you touch something with that hand, you’ll leave your germs on it, and then the germs will climb onto the hands of the first person who touches it!”

“Oh, yuck!” Sweetie Belle said in horror. She looked at both of her front hooves, as if trying to check if she’d sneezed on them.

“Of course, you can’t see the germs,” said Dot, “but that’s what makes it a bit worse. If you could see them, you could see them just about everywhere, not just on people’s hands.”

“So what I think you should do when you have to sneeze…” Dot reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue. “...is pull out a tissue and cover your mouth with it. You can also blow or wipe your nose afterward, if you’d like.”

“You’ll probably wanna do it if your nose starts running or gets stuffy after the sneeze,” Apple Bloom commented.

“Indeed. You can also use a handkerchief to cover your sneeze,” Dot went on. “That’s why I always have at least one of those with me.”

“But what if I don’t have either of those with me?” Audrey asked.

“Or what if I just don’t want to use a tissue or a hanky?” Scootaloo replied.

“The best way to sneeze without spreading germs,” Dot mentioned, “is to cover your mouth with your arm or your elbow. Sneezing into your arm or elbow means you still have clean hands to use, without the risk of sharing germs with your friends.”

Just as she’d finished saying that, Audrey felt another tickle in her nose. This one must have been from the sunshine that had gotten into her face. As her nose twitched, she held her arm up to her face.

“Aaaah… l-like this? Haaaah-tchuu!!” Audrey doubled over as she sneezed into her arm, and then she rubbed her nose with her forefinger on that same arm.

“Yes, exactly like that,” Dot said with a smile. “Why don’t one of you ponies try it next?”

Scootaloo felt a tickle in her nose, and decided that this was a perfect chance to put Dot’s theory to the test. She tilted her head up, then brought up her foreleg and sneezed into it.

“AHHHH-CHOOOOO!! Ugh…” Scootaloo then sniffled as she rubbed her nose with her arm. “That felt kinda weird…”

“It can feel kind of weird if you’re used to sneezing into your hands - or your hooves in this case - but once you realize that your hooves are still clean, you’ll know it’s the right way to cover,” Dot told her.

“Why don’t we head to my house?” Lotta asked. “I’ve got some tissues and handkerchiefs for us to use.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way out of the park. As they were heading to Lotta’s house, however, Apple Bloom felt her nose tickling. Her nostrils flared up slightly as her eyes watered a bit. It must have been from the pollen in the air.

“Aaah, haaah…” Apple Bloom moved her neck backward, then brought her hoof up to cover her nose with it - the pony equivalent of when someone tried to use their forefinger to stop a sneeze. “Haaaah…”

But when Dot and Lotta heard her inhales, they turned around to look at her and realized what she was doing.

“Apple Bloom?” Dot asked. “You really shouldn’t try to stop a sneeze. Stifling a sneeze can be quite dangerous and even painful.”

“Not to mention,” Lotta added, “keeping it from coming just won’t feel as good as letting it all out.”

Apple Bloom understood and pulled her hoof away from her nose, but her sneeze had already gone away.

“Little too late for that,” said Apple Bloom, almost sounding like she was joking.

“Oh, it’s alright,” Lotta replied. “The next time you’re about to sneeze, don’t try and stop it; just let it come out.”

Apple Bloom nodded in understanding and they continued on their way. Soon they were at Lotta’s house.

“Aside from flowers and pollen, there are quite a few other things that can make you sneeze,” Dot mentioned.

“There are?” Sweetie Belle sounded like she couldn’t believe it, but Dot nodded her head to confirm that she wasn’t lying.

As the six of them went into the house, Dot smelled something familiar. It smelled like dust, and it made her nose tickle. Her nostrils flared up slightly.

“Heh, haaah…” Dot inhaled, then grabbed the closest handkerchief she could find. She covered her nose with it and released a rather loud double, shooting her next forward. “HAAAH-TCHYEWW! AHHH-SHEEEW!”

“Bless you, Dot,” said Apple Bloom as Dot wiped her nose with the handkerchief.

“Thank you,” Dot said with a sniffle. “Those sneezes were caused by dust, by the way. I have a dust allergy, so if I smell some or get some too close to my nose, I tend to start sneezing.”

Lotta could feel the dust tickling her nose as well. She pulled out a tissue from her pocket and held it in front of her nose. Unlike Dot, however, she only sneezed once.

“Aaah… Haaah-chyew~!” She then wiped her nose with the tissue.

“Bless ya,” said Audrey.

“Thank you…” Lotta gave a light sniffle, tissue under her nose.

“You’re not allergic to dust, too, are you?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I don’t think so, but I guess it’s been a while since I cleaned my house,” Lotta admitted with a sheepish giggle.

“Oh, it’s alright,” Dot admitted. Just then, Lotta remembered something.

“There’s something else that can make you sneeze,” she said.

She walked over to her desk, opened up the drawer and moved some things around. Finally she pulled out a box and opened it, revealing a white quill feather inside. She picked it up by the end that was used for writing and showed it to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“You see this, girls?” Lotta asked.

“Yeah. It’s a feather, isn’t it?” Scootaloo guessed. “I should know, I’m a Pegasus.”

Lotta giggled at her comment. “It turns out, if you let someone tickle your nose with this feather - or any feather, really - it’ll make you need to sneeze.”

“It will?” Apple Bloom asked, and Lotta nodded.

Audrey walked up to Lotta. “Here, I’ll help you demonstrate.”

“Thank you, Audrey.” Lotta smiled at Audrey, and then stroked underneath her nose a few times with the feather.

“Ah… Haaah…”

Audrey’s nostrils immediately began to flare up as her eyelids lowered, and her breath hitched. Lotta tickled her nose a little more, which made her tilt her neck back. As soon as she gave her final inhale, Lotta pulled the feather away and looked on in anticipation.

“HAAAAAH-- CHOOOO!!!”

Audrey doubled over as she sneezed into her arm, and then put it down and rubbed her nose with her forefinger on the other hand.

“Bless you,” Lotta blessed her. Dot said the same thing not long afterward.

“Thanks.” Audrey gave a rather deep sniffle, then sighed as she pulled her forefinger away from her nose. “And thanks for getting that sneeze out for me, it actually felt pretty good.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Lotta placed her quill back in the box she’d got it from, and then put it back in her drawer.

“By the way, Crusaders,” Dot said, “you’ll also sneeze a lot whenever you catch a cold. Aside from the fact that it isn’t fun, that’s another reason why you need to be careful so you don’t.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yep,” Apple Bloom said in agreement.

“Now, why don’t we head into the kitchen for a snack?” Lotta suggested. “Though I should warn you, we’ll probably sneeze in there, too…”

“You know, she’s not wrong,” Audrey said.

When the Harvey Girls and Cutie Mark Crusaders had all gotten to the kitchen, Audrey picked up a container that had the word “Pepper” written on it.

“The pepper in this shaker can make you need to sneeze pretty badly,” Audrey said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “That’s why you’ve gotta be careful with it.”

She put it down on the table, but did it rather hard, causing a cloud of pepper to rise to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s noses. Their eyes widened and their snouts twitched around, and their nostrils flared up. Audrey hadn’t been exaggerating; they all needed to sneeze.

“Aaaah, haaaah…” inhaled the three little fillies.

Dot and Lotta gasped in horror when they realized what was going to happen. Dot picked up another handkerchief - this one was also clean - and handed it to Sweetie Belle, while Lotta pulled a tissue out of a nearby box and gave it to Apple Bloom. Scootaloo, however, not only was the first to sneeze, but made sure to cover her nose with her foreleg.

“AHHHH-TCHU!!!”

“Haaaah-Cheeewww!!!” Not long after, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle released their sneezes in unison, the edges of their tissue and handkerchief fluttering as they sneezed into them.

The fillies then rubbed their noses; Apple Bloom held her tissue in both her hooves, Scootaloo used her arm and Sweetie used the handkerchief she had in her right hoof. All three of them looked like they were a bit dazed.

“Gesundheit,” said Dot.

“Yeah. Gesundheit,” Audrey replied.

“Thank you,” said the Crusaders.

Lotta handed Scootaloo a tissue, who blew her nose loudly before she wiped her nose with it.

“Sorry I made you sneeze, girls,” Audrey apologized as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

“Ah, it’s alright,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, it’s not like it was on purpose,” Sweetie Belle said in agreement.

“But really, no matter what makes you sneeze,” Lotta told them, not realizing that she had a tickle in her nose, “the most important thing of all is to…”

She suddenly trailed off as her nose twitched, and her eyelids lowered. Her friends all looked on in curiosity, which quickly turned into surprise as she inhaled.

“Hah, aaah… Aaah-- Tchyew!”

Lotta gave a squeaky sneeze into her arm, and then rubbed her nose cutely with it.

“Excuse me…” Lotta said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“It’s to cover your mouth when you sneeze, isn’t it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Lotta nodded to confirm that. “It really, truly is. How’d you know?”

“Well, we have seen you girls do that a lot today,” Apple Bloom said.

“And I was gonna say the same thing,” said Sweetie.

Everyone laughed as they agreed with their comments. This really had been quite a sneezy day for the Harvey Girls and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.


End file.
